UK to SA price difference

[AndyD]

It looks like that's aimed at stopping people importing and selling the goods on to an end user. I haven't imported Fluke, most of my test equipment is Megger, Laplace and Druck.

At the risk of starting an argument I prefer Megger to Fluke.

[murdock]

reading that article explains why you have to hold your ankles every time you purchase fluke equipment...

and it explains why they are putting such a huge mark up on the product...because they can

i personal wont buy anymore fluke products in south africa especially not the more expensive ones...it would pay me to take a holiday rather.

fluke and megger are in the same office in durban.

[murdock]

i dont understand how this whole pricing structure works...surely the goverment should look after the consumer in this country or is that what the problem boils down to again like the telephone sager...where the goverment is actually the problem and not the telephone companies because of their cut they get.

or am ai missing the boat here...i cant understand how a product purchased from fluke in the UK would be regarded as a grey market product and why they are not allowed to sell you fluke equipment here in south africa...what am i missing how does comtest justify a 200% markup.

surely if fluke comes directly from the fluke factory we should be able to offer the same pricing structure as the UK...taking into account that the price we are talking about is not cost but sale price...imagine what fluke UK pay for the equipment.

this type of behavior should be illegal...or does the goverment support this?

[Pap_sak]

i dont understand how this whole pricing structure works...surely the goverment should look after the consumer in this country or is that what the problem boils down to again like the telephone sager...where the goverment is actually the problem and not the telephone companies because of their cut they get.

or am ai missing the boat here...i cant understand how a product purchased from fluke in the UK would be regarded as a grey market product and why they are not allowed to sell you fluke equipment here in south africa...what am i missing how does comtest justify a 200% markup.

surely if fluke comes directly from the fluke factory we should be able to offer the same pricing structure as the UK...taking into account that the price we are talking about is not cost but sale price...imagine what fluke UK pay for the equipment.

this type of behavior should be illegal...or does the goverment support this?

If you think you can do it better, go for it

Sounds like it could be a business, but do have the balls???

Are you willing to chuck that money at it...?

[adrianh]

Murdock, you must remember that they, just like us, run a business to make money. We all price our products as high as the market is willing to pay. 80% of people that approch me are willing to pay my prices, 10% ask why the prices are so low and 10% complain because they feell the prices are too high. I am quite happy to serve the 90% of the market who are willing to pay the prices. My view as a supplier is that I will not change my pricing structure to suit 10% of the market.

If the market was unwilling to tolerate Fluke pricing then they wouldn't buy the products locally. You and I fit into the unhappy 10%. We have a choice, either get the product from the UK or buy something else.

I am not defending Fluke SA as such, but I do understand why they set their prices as they do.

[Pap_sak]

i dont understand how this whole pricing structure works...surely the goverment should look after the consumer in this country or is that what the problem boils down to again like the telephone sager...where the goverment is actually the problem and not the telephone companies because of their cut they get.

or am ai missing the boat here...i cant understand how a product purchased from fluke in the UK would be regarded as a grey market product and why they are not allowed to sell you fluke equipment here in south africa...what am i missing how does comtest justify a 200% markup.

surely if fluke comes directly from the fluke factory we should be able to offer the same pricing structure as the UK...taking into account that the price we are talking about is not cost but sale price...imagine what fluke UK pay for the equipment.

this type of behavior should be illegal...or does the goverment support this?

You could also source for another brand...and become the sole importer for that brand. If the brand is not represented in his country it wouldn't be that hard to do. You will need someone that knows how to fix the machines, or send the faulty machine back and let the customer use a demo model while being fixed. And a good website instead of a brick and mortar shop will save a bit. You will still want a 100% margin though...

I think the government (and it's many boards) could/should do more on some things like why it costs me over R14 for a debit order, the price of writing out a check, cell phone calls, maybe even new car prices..reigning in the big guys that we HAVE to use...but not on the smaller guys or where there is already viable/cheaper alternatives. So I do not expect them to look at the price of ink cartridges or the price of Gillette razor blades.

They could also look at why I have to fork out R530 to watch a bit of rugby...

[murdock]

point taken...

but here is another scenerio i was involved in a once off project a while back and maybe this is why the employment and sales situation is like it is in sa...it was cheaper to fly to far east...hire and setup a workshop...employ the local community...design the moulds and manufacter the product...did quality checks there and shipped it back...and stiill saved a huge amount of money...so as you mentioned you just need the balls and incentive to do it.

[Duncan]

South Africans are greedy. Its time to a put a stop to all this trash taking place: The milking us.
Down Vodacom, down the banks (and i could go on and on) and down the other greedy bastards that make this place difficult to live in. Our cell providers are one of the most expensive in the world, why. Because we allow it. We are so damn hungry for technology that we just accept it.
A cell contract in UK with Orange, 25 pounds gets you any phone you want and 750 free minutes per month, yes, its true and that's equal to R275.00 per month.
Standard Bank made 14Billion profit last fiscal year. Come on guys. I had to pay them R925.00 for a couple of back dated statements to prove a point to the receiver. I might as well have just paid the receiver.

Chatting recently to an american on the plan to Jhb and i asked him if he thought it was an expensive destination, and you can guess what he said. Yes.

If we don't start fixing this we are on a road to no where. And it is such a beautiful place which we will be loosing out of.

[Blurock]

Interesting following this thread. Some of us are still relying on the Government to fix things for us. They must fix the roads, fix the education, fix prices, fix the banking system etc etc.

Is the onus not on us as consumers to make decisions and take action? South Africans are greedy? No, they are too damn lazy to go to the shop to exchange the substandard item purchased just yesterday. They are too lazy to look for alternatives. They are too lazy to pick up the phone or write a letter to the CEO to complain about bad service.

The onus is on the consumer. Refuse to pay the bank for unwarranted fees. Close your account if need be, but do not sit back in your recliner and do nothing! If prices are too high, do not pay it. Stay without the icing on the cake for a short while until the prices come down. Change starts with us.